Justin Baldoni Fights Blake Lively’s ‘Excessive’ Request to Pay $8 Million for Her Legal Fees

Blake Lively has requested Justin Baldoni, the director of It Ends With Us, to pay approximately $8 million in legal fees after their recent settlement. In response, Baldoni's lawyers fired back, arguing that Lively fails to meet her burden to present credible evidence showing that the fees and costs she seeks to recover are reasonable.

Baldoni's legal team claims that Lively's submission shows multiple lawyers at the same hearings, numerous charges for lawyers conferencing, conferring, or strategizing with one another, and extremely excessive research and online investigation. They compare Lively's request to the New York Times seeking $181,622.70 in attorneys' fees "to dismiss precisely the same defamation claim" filed by Baldoni against the newspaper.

Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment and orchestrating an alleged smear campaign against her in December 2024. Following the dismissal of Baldoni's countersuit, lawyers for both sides engaged in a lengthy discovery process that included text messages from Taylor Swift, Ryan Reynolds, Jenny Slate, and Ben Affleck being released through the court.

In June, Judge Lewis J. Liman ruled that Baldoni was liable to pay Lively's legal fees under a 2023 California law meant to protect sexual abuse accusers from retaliatory defamation suits. However, Lively's lawyers asked Judge Liman to award the actress $8,035,040.88 in attorneys' fees and litigation costs related to Baldoni's dismissed defamation suit on June 29.

The sum broke down to $7,495,526.87 in attorneys' fees and $539,514.01 in legal costs and expenses incurred as part of the successful defense of the Wayfarer Action. Now it is up to Judge Liman to determine the exact costs that Baldoni will be required to pay, if anything.

A motion submitted to the court blasts an “excessive” expectation for Baldoni to pay for 7,070.20 billable legal hours billed by no fewer than 82 timekeepers to obtain the dismissal of a single defamation claim at the pleading stage.

Judge Liman gave Baldoni's attorneys until July 13 to respond to this new motion.